Lackey girls, Westlake boys conquer region in track
Lackey girls, Westlake boys win 2A South Region team titles
Overcast, cooler conditions that enveloped the region proved to be ideal for many of the athletes who competed in the Class 2A South Region track and field championships at Westlake High School on Saturday, but their impact on a trio of seniors was distinctly overshadowed.
Westlake senior Thomas Alcorn admitted that the meet was an “emotional” occasion as the University of Houston recruit put the finish touches on local outings in his stellar high school career. Alcorn won two individual events and was part of two triumphant relays that helped the Wolverines easily capture the boys team title in springboard efforts into the state championships, which begin Thursday and continue Saturday at Morgan State University in Baltimore.
“When I got here this morning, I knew this was the last time that I would be able to compete on my home track,” said Alcorn, who captured the 200-meter dash in 22.55 seconds as well as the 400 dash (49.09) and was part of the winning 400 (42.67) and 1,600 (3 minutes 28.09 seconds) relays. “It was an emotional day. I knew they were going to run this meet quick, so I didn’t have much time to think about it between races. I just had to go out there and run my events.”
Alcorn and Westlake captured the 2A South Region title with 144 points, well clear of runner-up Frederick Douglass of Prince George’s County (80). Calvert finished third (71.50), Lackey (59) took fifth, La Plata placed seventh (48), Patuxent (28.50) was 10th and Thomas Stone (25) finished 11th among the 13 boys teams at the meet.
Alcorn, Anthony Butler, Andre Jackson and Kamari Walker combined to take the 400 relay and Alcorn, Tobias Hurley, Anthony Johnson and Duane Kizer combined to take the 1,600. Westlake senior Kyle Nottage captured the shot put (51-2 1/4) and the discus (147-5) by comfortable margins.
Lackey senior Sydney Williams also put the finishing touches on her final local high school meet by capturing the 100 dash (12.15), 100 hurdles (14.63), 300 hurdles (44.94) and the long jump (17-8) — a relatively new event for the Temple University recruit — to help the Chargers coast to the girls team title. Like Alcorn, Williams was also
seeking to use Saturday’s region meet as a final prep for the state championships.
“Today was mainly about getting ready for next week,” Williams said. “I’m really hoping to finish out strong. I would like to go 14 low in the 100 hurdles and 44 low in the 300 hurdles. I love competing at Morgan State. It’s my last high school meet, so I would like to be able to go out strong.”
Williams and her Chargers teammates collected 174 points at the meet to easily garner the top prize over runner-up Calvert (108), while Patuxent (50) was fourth, Westlake (40) tied for seventh with Southern of Anne Arundel County and Thomas Stone (37.50) was ninth among the 12 girls teams who scored at the region meet.
Lackey junior Dominique Jeffery won the 400 (57.68) by one-tenth of a second over Calvert senior Sydney Watson and was second in the 200 (25.89). The Chargers’ 800 relay of freshman Dynah Desir, sophomore Erin Pearson, junior Destiny Thompson and sophomore Taylor Williams took first place (1:44.19), while Lackey took second in both the 400 and 1,600 relays.
While Alcorn and Williams have thrived in sprints throughout their careers, Patuxent High School senior Hayley Jackson once again proved dominant in a trio of distance events.
Jackson captured the 800 (2:19.27), 1,600 (5:00.44) and 3,200 (11:05.07) — admittedly in final clockings that were well above her best — and she is hoping to cap her stellar high school career this weekend at Morgan State with three more state titles.
“This is going to be my last high school meet, so I’m going to leave it all out there,” Jackson said. “I was glad that the weather was cooler. But I’ve been dealing with allergies all week, so I wasn’t anywhere near my best. But next week I want to PR in all of my events. I love competing on that track, so I want to end my high school career on a good note.”
Calvert’s girls team finished second to Lackey in the team title chase and the Cavaliers played the bridesmaid role in many of the individual events. But a pair of Calvert relays prevailed on Saturday.
The quartet of sophomore Anita Pope, juniors Anna Kelly and Tatyana Jones and senior Sydney Watson combined to capture the 1,600 relay (4:02.25) by more than seven full seconds, and the group of senior Lauren Miller, sophomores Brittney Douglas and Kayla Brennan and freshman Emily Mutcher took the 3,200 (10:19.86) by nearly eight full seconds.
Watson was second to Jeffery in the 400 (57.78), while sophomore Sydney Friedel was second to Jackson in the 1,600 (5:29.46) and 3,200 (12:09.97), while Brennan was third in those two events and Maddie Dahlberg was fourth in a pair of field events.
For Calvert’s boys, the talented distance tandem of sophomore Justin Diehl and junior John Dodsworth finished one-two in the 1,600 and 3,200. Diehl won the 1,600 (4:30.91) by less than a second and edged Dodsworth by just over a full second in the 3,200 (9:59.98). Westlake junior Jay Hall was third in the 3,200 and fourth in the 1,600.
La Plata junior Alex Strong continued his solid postseason by capturing the high jump (6-4 1/2) by over six inches, finishing second in the 300 hurdles (40.43), third in the 100 hurdles (15.76). Warriors sophomore Edwin Santos was second to Nottage in the discus (127-9).